The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights yesterday said that at least five Islamic State group members including a cell leader were killed in the strikes overnight. Trump also has taken pains to emphasize the attack was the work of the Islamic State — not Syria’s new government. Palmyra is outside the control of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has promised to join a US-led coalition to defeat the Islamic State. During his first term, Trump ordered strikes on Syria twice in a bid to take out then-Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s chemical weapons program. It also marked the first time a Syrian president has visited the White House since the country’s independence in 1946.

Source: Taipei Times December 20, 2025 16:54 UTC